FIRST OFF . . .

Lawyers for the Beatles and singer Michael Jackson sought an injunction against a New Jersey video wholesaler Wednesday, charging the company with pirating the band’s performances on videocassettes, the Associated Press reported. Lawyer Alan Friedman asked U.S. District Judge Garrett Brown in Trenton to issue an injunction against Video Wholesalers Inc. of Neptune. Friedman charged the firm has been selling videocassettes of the Beatles’ concert at Shea Stadium, “The Beatles in Tokyo,” “Beatles Concert in Washington” and “The Beatles in The Magical Mystery Tour.” The suit also names David Saka, who is listed as a director of Video Wholesalers. Jackson owns the copyright to many of the songs carried on the videos, including “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” “Yesterday,” “Nowhere Man,” “Hard Day’s Night” and “Help.” “This lawsuit sends bootleggers and pirates of Beatles materials the clear message that they will be sued for damages and stopped in their tracks,” Leonard Marks, a lawyer for the entertainers, said in a prepared statement. The complaint alleges the company has illegally manufactured and sold the videocassettes without the authorization or license from Michael Jackson or the Beatles and without making any payments to them. Officials at the court declined late Wednesday to comment on the suit, and the wire service was unable to contact Saka.